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Juvenile Fiction | Page 36 | LitPick Book Reviews
Juvenile Fiction
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates
L Pichon, L Pichon
Top Choice
The top-selling U.K. series for middle-grade readers now crosses the pond!Meet Tom Gates. When his teachers don’t have their beady eyes on him, he likes to draw pictures and write about stuff, like last summer’s worst camping vacation ever (five merits!), or how much he hates sitting next to nosy Marcus Meldrew, the most annoying boy at school. All Tom really wants is to score tickets to see the best band ever, Dude3, when they come to town, and to impress Amy Porter, who is very nice and smart (but is currently ignoring him). Tom’s teachers think he is easily distracted and “lacks focus,” but that’s a bit harsh — can he help it if his grumpy big sister, Delia, made him late for school (again), or that last night’s homework had to be sacrificed to stave off a vicious dog attack? Master of excuses, creative storyteller, and middle-school comedian extraordinaire, Tom Gates is guaranteed to get kids turning the pages — and keep them laughing.

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Ruby Redfort Catch Your Death
Ruby Redfort Catch Your Death (Book #3)
Lauren Child, Lauren Child
There’s more to most things than meets the eye—or nose—as code-cracking, wisecracking girl detective Ruby Redfort discovers in her third adventure.Wild animals roaming around Twinford? Ruby Redfort has heard the rumors, but she doesn’t quite believe them. She’s got enough on her mind doing wilderness survival training with the secret agency Spectrum, and her bad eyesight isn’t helping. But as high society buzzes with news of a very exclusive perfume formula coming to town, and some priceless jewelry goes missing, Ruby begins to sense a sinister plot in the works. Can our favorite action hero sniff out the clues in time to keep Twinford safe from evil scents? Well, let’s say this is one of those times when you gotta forget the rules and follow your nose to survive.

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Paper Things
Paper Things
When forced to choose between staying with her guardian and being with her big brother, Ari chose her big brother. There’s just one problem—Gage doesn’t actually have a place to live.When Ari’s mother died four years ago, she had two final wishes: that Ari and her older brother, Gage, would stay together always, and that Ari would go to Carter, the middle school for gifted students. So when nineteen-year-old Gage decides he can no longer live with their bossy guardian, Janna, Ari knows she has to go with him. But it’s been two months, and Gage still hasn’t found them an apartment. He and Ari have been “couch surfing,” staying with Gage’s friend in a tiny apartment, crashing with Gage’s girlfriend and two roommates, and if necessary, sneaking into a juvenile shelter to escape the cold Maine nights. But all of this jumping around makes it hard for Ari to keep up with her schoolwork, never mind her friendships, and getting into Carter starts to seem impossible. Will Ari be forced to break one of her promises to Mama? Told in an open, authentic voice, this nuanced story of hiding in plain sight may have readers thinking about homelessness in a whole new way.

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The Phony Farkleberry: Twisted Oak Amateur Detectives #1
The Phony Farkleberry (Twisted Oak Amateur Detectives #1)
When a painting by legendary artist Thomas Farkleberry is stolen from the art gallery where Tyler’s mother works, Tyler’s mind races to the whispered conversation he overheard on the night of the big gala. But when his mother dismisses Tyler’s suspicions, he and his friends, Melanie, Amanda, Tubby, and Dontrelle, decide to take the investigation into their own hands. Can they crack the case before their parents discover what they are up to?

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Fifty Years of Peace (Abrupt Dissent Series Book 1)
Fifty Years of Peace (Abrupt Dissent Series Book 1)
Charlotte Andrews
Fifty years after the war that changed everything and deemed technology illegal, Jenny Williams enjoys her simple life as a teenager on her grandpa's ranch. She goes to school, helps out on the ranch, and even sells her grandpa's cheese at the local market.But when Jenny goes to town for the Fifty Years of Peace Festival, a strange boy and a catastrophic event makes her question whether her idyllic life is really as perfect as she thought.Now, in order to save herself, her grandpa, and her town from an impending war, Jenny must decide if she should trust Jacob, her handsome friend of many years, or the strange, but intriguing boy who seems to know more than he's letting on.This dystopian adventure is part 1 of the 3-part Abrupt Dissent Series. Burning Bridges: Part 2 of the Abrupt Dissent Series is Now Available!

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The Tooth Fairy Trap
The Tooth Fairy Trap
Bluma is a young tooth fairy who is allergic to her own fairy dust. She faces many problems during this night of tooth collecting, but her biggest challenge is Brian's fairy trap. Bluma can succeed in collecting his tooth only with the help of the boy's grouchy hamster, and a few things she has collected through the night. An illustrated chapter book for young readers. (PLEASE NOTE:  Amazon's "LOOK INSIDE" review feature may skip over many full-page illustrations.)

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Fearless Joe Dearborne
Fearless Joe Dearborne
Some might say he’s courageous, while others would say he’s daring, maybe even a little crazy. But when Joe Dearborne risked his life and ran into a burning building to save a puppy, the local newspaper referred to him as “fearless”—and that’s a pretty big title for a sixth-grader to live up to. Plus, Joe already has plenty else to worry about. After other daring feats in the past, Joe promised his father he wouldn’t do anything dangerous again, and, alas, he’s just broken that promise. But whatever trouble he expects to get into with his father, and despite the dangers he’s triumphed over in the past, nothing could prepare Joe for what he’s about to encounter when a cold, bitterness creeps into his home. A mysterious and peculiar woman named Mrs. Chill has just been hired to care for Joe while his father is away on business. In no time, however, Joe discovers that she’s up to more than cooking and cleaning, and she has plans to destroy his family. Joe’s effort to save them results in perilous, sometimes humorous, encounters, and leads him on a journey through the threatening wilderness where he faces his greatest challenge yet.

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The Castle Park Kids
The Castle Park Kids
Jamie and her family have just moved into their new house on a horseshoe-shaped street surrounding a playground. There is a lot to get used to at first. Her brother, Luke, has nightmares. Her sister, Becky, acts like a baby, and all three of them miss their grandparents whose house they had lived in until now. While Jamie’s dad is at work and her mom works from home, Jamie is in charge of her brother and sister for the summer. At the playground, they are introduced to all of the neighborhood kids. Together, they teach each other their favorite games, make up new ones, go on many adventures, and end up having the best summer ever.

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Sentient (The Mentalist Series Book 2)
Sentient (The Mentalist Series Book 2)
Mastering her Progressive Empath abilities isn’t going as well as Gemma hoped. In fact, months after finding out what she really is, she still has no clue what this truly means. All she can do is wait to see if any new abilities will eventually manifest. Things aren’t going great with Russ either. Unsure of how to handle her Sentient Link with him, she tries to integrate herself in his busy social life but struggles to adjust to her new circumstances.When she is plagued by recurring nightmares, Gemma realises things are changing and knows she has to do something, fast. The arrival of two sets of strangers in town, both offering the much needed assistance she needs to unearth her powers, escalates the situation even further. Gemma attempts to decipher whose intentions are genuine, but does she have enough time to figure out who has her best interest at heart?

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Aversion (The Mentalist Series Book 1)
Aversion (The Mentalist Series Book 1)
For Gemma Green’s first time, things should have been straightforward. Find your subject, hold their gaze and push a thought into their head to save them from future disaster – Aversion complete. A pretty simple process given that the subject was to have no recollection of the experience. But Russ Tanner doesn’t seem to want to forget. In fact the more she tries to avoid him, the more he pushes to get to know her. Gemma knows she has a problem but is she facing the side effects of a failed Aversion or has the school’s tennis champ really fallen for her?

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